Although Arthur Curry made his DC Extended Universe debut in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and was one of Justice League's principal players, the character's past is finally being delved into next month in Aquaman. This includes meeting his mother, Atlanna, played by Nicole Kidman. With Kidman being 51 years old and Aquaman himself, Jason Momoa, being 39 years old, there's been some criticism that Kidman is too young to be playing Arthur's mother, but the actress isn't bothered by these comments, saying:
In the context of the superhero world, it all evens out. Atlanna doesn't really age.
This wouldn't be the first time that there's a small age gap between actors who have a parent/child dynamic in a movie. Remember, Sean Connery played Harrison Ford's father in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and he's also only 12 years older than Ford. Still, within the context of Aquaman, Nicole Kidman told Variety that Atlanna, an Atlantean, just ages more gracefully than a human woman does.
For a comic book movie, this is an acceptable reason. Within both the DC and Marvel universes, along with plenty of other sci-fi and fantasy franchises, there are numerous examples of various non-human species aging much more slowly than humans. Superman falls into this category as a Kryptonian, and evidently the DCEU's version of Atlanteans do too. It's a nice perk alongside special physical abilities like enhanced strength and breathing underwater.
It is worth noting, however, that so far, the Aquaman previews have only shown Atlanna in scenes taking place when Arthur Curry is a child. So in that lens, there's no issue with age difference, but it also calls into question whether or not Atlanna will appear in Aquaman's present day scenes. Depending on the DC continuity, sometimes Atlanna is dead when Arthur Curry is an adult, although in the New 52, it was revealed that she was actually alive and well, having faked her death. Maybe that's the case in Aquaman, or maybe something tragic happens to her early in Arthur's life.
While we'll have to wait and see what Aquaman holds in store for Atlanna, Arthur Curry's human father, Thomas Curry (played by Temuera Morrison) will definitely be around for his son's latest adventure. Whether Thomas makes it out alive or not is also unclear, but at least Arthur has one parent for emotional support.
Fresh off saving the world with Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash and Cyborg, Aquaman will see Arthur Curry returning to Atlantis to become its new king, only to get caught in the middle of a conflict between the underwater nation and the surface world. The movie's other notable players include Amber Heard's Mera, Patrick Wilson's Orm, Willem Dafoe's Vulko, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II's Black Manta and Dolph Lundgren's Nereus.
Aquaman dives into theaters on December 21, so stay tuned to CinemaBlend for continuing coverage. Don't forget to also look through our DC movies guide to learn what else this superhero franchise has coming down the pipeline.
